Bangkok, Thailand

Destinations

Yaowarat

IntroductionYaowrat is the home of Bangkok's sizable Chinese community and one of the oldest in Thailand. The story of the Chinese in Bangkok began in
the late 1700s, when poor peasants from China's Chaozhou region began to settle in Rattanakosin. Many
came to Siam to find work in Thonburi, situated on the other side of the Chao
Phraya River. The
Chinese were later requested to move outside Rattanakosin when King Rama I,
in 1782, set to establish the Grand Palace and Rattanakosin as the new capital. Many of the Chinese resettled in the area now known as Yaowarat, which is today Bangkok's own Chinatown.

The Chinese neighbourhood of Yaowarat was Bangkok's main centre of commerce for the following two
centuries. Formerly impoverished peasants had worked their way up to become
the backbone of trade in Siam. It was also became known as a seedy area
thriving on brothels, gambling houses and opium dens, though these
activities are illegal nowadays and no longer to be found. Modern-day Yaowarat now covers a large area centring around Yaowarat Road and Charoen Krung Road. Occupying the area are small streets and alleys, home to shops and street vendors selling various merchandise.

Bustling Yaowarat by Globetrotter

Compared to the rest of the city, Yaowarat is fairly compact and can be explored in a full-day (and
night) walking tour. By day, Yaowarat doesn't look that much
different from any other part of Bangkok, though the neighbourhood
feels like a big street market and there are some hidden gems waiting to
be explored. You'll come across street markets, shop houses,
gold shops, beautiful remnants of colonial-style architecture and some
interesting temples. At night, neon signs blaze with Chinese
characters and restaurants spill out onto
the streets, turning the area into a miniature Hong Kong but minus the
skyscrapers.

Bright neon signs in Yaowarat by Jacob Siverskog

Yaowarat is centred, as could be
expected, around Yaowarat Road, a big road bursting with neon signs.
North of it is Charoen Krung Road, which is also one of Bangkok's major
traffic thoroughfare. Running parallel to the south of Yaowarat Road is
Sampeng Lane, which is also known as Soi Wanit 1, a narrow
pedestrian-only lane with many small department stores. Crossing these streets is the pedestrian-only Trok Issaranuphap, an
interesting lane for shopping and having small snacks. Another small
lane crossing Yaowarat Road is Soi Phadung Dao, the place to
go when you get hungry.